Is It Legal For Malaysian Shop Owners to Block Parking Spaces?

Alright, if there’s one thing all of us can agree on, it’s that finding a parking spot in a shop lot area really, really, really sucks. Seriously wei, my blood pressure already ‘naik’ just thinking about it. 

Perhaps one of the most annoying parts about looking for a spot in these areas is when you come across empty parking spaces, but then realise that they have been blocked off by shop owners who “reserve” these spaces for paying customers.

Often times when we encounter this scenario, we typically roll our eyes and drive away while asking ourselves, “Is this even legal, ah?!”

But seriously, though… is it??? 

Well, after doing some Googling, here’s what we found out!

1. Shop owners can legally reserve parking spaces… for a price

Source: the star

So, it turns out that shops can take up their own parking spaces legally if they apply for approval from their local city council.

According to The Star, there’s a specific set of rates a shopkeeper has to pay on a monthly basis to rent parking spots, and it varies according to location. Here’s a visual they created for parking rental rates in KL, Petaling Jaya, and Subang Jaya;

Source: the star

According to their report, for some councils, it’s compulsory for car workshops to legally reserve at least two spots for their customers.

So… how do you know if a parking spot is legally reserved, then?

2. If the parking space has yellow lines but is blocked by shop owners, it’s illegal 

Source: hotels. Com & the sun daily

If you’re pissed off when you see an empty parking space with red lines and/or barrier stands with the city’s council logo within the spot, then you can’t do anything about it because they’re legal and approved by the council.

Source: the star

However, if you see parking spots that have yellow lines and have inanimate objects like chairs blocking them, then you can definitely do something about it!

3. However, there is such a thing as having too many reserved spaces!

Source: the borneo post

So, what happens if you drive somewhere and notice that an overwhelming majority of parking spaces are marked red and there are only a handful of yellow spaces in comparison? Not fair, right?

Well, turns out that doing this is illegal too!

According to the Borneo Post, an assemblyman from Miri, Sarawak actually filed a police report when he discovered extra paid parking spaces at a shoplot area last March.

Source: the borneo post

“When I went to inspect the area, I counted the parking spaces and the number of parking spaces is actually 59,” he told the daily.

“The additional car spaces are from the side of the road where there used to be a yellow line and eventually the line has been marked off and been drawn and replaced as a parking space so the driveway now is very narrow.”

He claimed that this could be an illegal occupation of public space for private gain. Wah, so it looks like we can report these types of cases on top of illegally reserved spaces!

So, there you have it! We hope you’ve been enlightened by this and know when you can and cannot park at a reserved parking space. #KnowYourRights!

Also read: There’s Now FREE Parking for Drivers Waiting to Pick Someone Up at Airport